Improved Parry (3.5e Feat)

From D&D Wiki

Benefit: When parrying you do not suffer the normal -4 penalty when using a light or finesse weapon. When using a non-light weapon the penalty decreases to a -4 penalty.

Normal: -4 penalty with light and finesse weapons. -8 penalty with all non-light and finesse weapons.

Special: A fighter may select this feat as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Rules:
Occasionally, defending one's self becomes more important then striking an enemy. While dodging attacks is useful, it is often easier to simply block the incoming weapon, preventing it from hitting. A character may use a parry maneuver in lieu of one of his attacks to block an incoming strike from an enemy. If the character has multiple attacks, the player may choose which attack bonus to use for the parry or may even choose to make multiple parries with multiple attack bonuses. Treat the parry as an opposed attack roll. Roll a attack roll with all bonuses, but with a -4 penalty if using a light weapon or any other finesse weapon (if the character is using anything else than a light or finesse weapon the penalty increases to a -8 penalty), and compare the result with your opponent’s attack roll. If the parry is equal to or higher than the opponent's attack roll, the parry successfully blocks the attack. If the attack roll is higher than the parry roll, the attack functions normally, hitting or missing depending upon armor class.